College students hoping to dive into the U.S Postal Service as a back-up plan after graduation may have to think again.
As people turn to e-mail and other Internet and social media for communication, the U.S. Postal Service is faced with a major deficit, leading to make major cuts that could eliminate the equivalent of 49,000 full-and part-time jobs.
Faced with a projected $238-billion deficit over the next decade, the Postal Service board of governors approved the cuts in March.
The U.S. Postal Service is considering ending Saturday mail delivery by early next year as part of a plan to save billions of dollars and cope with the impact of declining mail volume in the age of e-mail. Officials said the changes would save the Postal Service a forecasted $3.3 billion in the first year and about $5.1 billion annually by 2020, according to a March 29 Los Angeles Times article
“Total volume has declined drastically the past two years due to the economic recession our country is experiencing,” said Richard Maher, in charge of corporate communications for the U.S Postal Service. “Mail volume has historically been a barometer of the national economy.”
The U.S Postal service has begun to put together plans to stay afloat in this economy and be affordable to U.S citizens at the same time. The plans may not solve all the problems they are facing, but will help slowly revitalize the service.
With this continuing declining trend, some wonder how long the service will survive.
“The Postal Service believes there will be a need for hardcopy communication and delivery in the future, albeit somewhat reduced,” Maher said. “We think mail and delivery service will remain a relevant part of the communications mix for decades to come.”
Biola students seem to agree that the Postal Service is and will still be needed.
When 40 Biola students were surveyed and asked the last time they personally sent a letter, 16 students, the largest number of the 40 that replied, responded “one week to one month ago,” showing that even students who live in this age of the Internet still use the Postal Service. Only five students said they sent a letter more than a year ago.
“It seems that USPS is still used frequently,” said Sarah Brown, an employee for student mail services at Biola. “It is fun during the different seasons, like Valentines Day, Easter and Christmas to see the packages people receive from their friends and family. We also see a lot of online shopping packages. Personally I love sending cards. It is a lot more personal then sending a message on Facebook, and in the long run I think it blesses people to open their mailbox and find a surprise.”
Brown’s mom, a mail worker for the USPS in Washington, hasn’t had the same experience, however.
“She has noticed a huge decline in mail from when she first started working to now,” Brown said. “However, college is a unique stage in life so the mail system is different on campus … Having kids far from home, of course families are going to be more inclined to send gifts for birthdays and holidays. Also, I think the online shopping is a sign of our generation being poor busy college students.”
